It's All Downhill From Here
by Darqstar
Summary: Jubilie thinks her days are made when she comes home to the XMansion for summer break. Little does she realizes there is a little girl who's determined to have Aunt JuBe teach her to rollerblade!


X-S It's All Downhill From Here. 

It's All Downhill From Here

Tossing a bag of cheese curls on the coffee table, Jubilee flopped down on the couch in the recreation room and popped open a can of soda. _This is the life!_ she thought as she reached for the remote. _Summer vacation and I'm with the X-Men. No school, no books, no stupid assignments. I can just kick back, relax, and do whatever I want. Let the X-Men take care of me for awhile. _Letting out a very deep, very contented sigh, she clicked the remote to MTV, leaned back on the couch, and settled in for an afternoon of blissful laziness. 

"Ju-be? Ju-be?" A young voice called out, interrupting her TV watching. "Ju-be, where are you?"

__

Aw crap. Although it was almost impossible to do in this place, Jubilee had completely forgotten about Sikudhani McCoy, the resident X-Toddler. She had been sound asleep when Jubilee arrived last night, and busy with her father all morning_. I forgot, I agreed to help the X-Men with the kid this summer. I didn't think I'd have to start so soon. Maybe, if I'm lucky, she just wants to say hello. _"I'm in the rec.-room, Siku!" she called out.

"Ju-be?" Siku scampered in the room. When she saw Jubilee sitting on the couch, she broke into a huge grin. "Juuuu-be!" Putting on a burst of speed, she ran, leaped on the couch, and threw her arms around the girl. "Hi Ju-be!"

"Hi Kiddo." Jubilee scooped Siku up into her arms and hugged her back. Siku was an okay kid. She could be annoying, like most little ones, but there was something kind-of neat about seeing her whole face light up when she set eyes on you, like she had been waiting her whole life just to hug you. "Whatcha doing?"

"Lookin' for you!" Siku exclaimed. "When you got here, I was sleepin!"

"Yeah, that's cause I got here late last night," Jubilee said. 

Siku nodded. "An' I did' see you this mornin' cause Daddy an' I went out for breakfast." She snuggled up against the young woman. "Ju-be play wif' Siku?"

"Sure, fuzzy-face, we'll play a lot this summer, I promise."

Siku frowned. "Play wif' me now, Ju-be." 

Jubilee frowned in return. "What about your daddy?"

"Daddy's in the basement." Siku continued to frown. "He's playin' wif' the Leg of Sea."

It took Jubilee a moment to realize what Siku was telling her was that Hank was working on the legacy virus. He might as well be dead then_. Once he's in the lab, it takes dynamite to blast him out of it_. "Uhm.. What about your Uncle Remy?"

"Unca Remy is sleepin' an he smells funny," Siku said.

Jubilee suppressed a smirk. _Uncle Remy is hung over._ "Uhm… Uncle Bobby?"

"Unca Bobby is out." Siku's frown deepened. "Ju-be, I wanna play wif' you. Don' you wanna play wif' me?"

__

Will it warp the kid if I tell her, 'no, I'd much rather watch TV?' Jubilee did not know, but she figured she had better not risk it. "Okay, Siku. We'll hang."

Siku's frown quickly upturned into a grin. "Goodie." 

"So, what do you want to do? Watch TV with me?" Jubilee asked, hopefully.

"No." Siku shook her head. "Ju-be take Siku b-lading."

"Blading?" Jubilee's head tipped to one side. She had given Siku a pair of the Fisher-Price Roller Blades for her Adoption Day last April. "Hmm…" Although she would much rather watch MTV and vege the afternoon away, going blading was not such a bad idea. "Well, I suppose we could do that. I'll bet you've gotten pretty good on blades by now." The kid was a natural at agility and coordination. Jubilee figured she must be doing tricks on her blades by now.

Siku shook her head and frowned. "No one shows me." Her lower lip stuck out in that adorable fashion of young girls, quivering slightly for a moment. Then she smiled again. "Ju-be show me." 

Jubilee sighed. She had taught other kids, even a few members of Gen-X to blade, but Siku was pretty young. It might not be so easy. "All right. Let's get our blades and we'll go to the park."

Siku's eyes lit up. "We go to the _park!_" she exclaimed. "We go to the park and Ju-be show me how to _blade!"_

They took Rogue's convertible. Normally, Jubilee would have just bladed down, but with Siku along, she thought it might be better to drive to the park. Besides, that car was _hot_ and she always wanted to drive it. She left a note on the kitchen table, not feeling the least bit guilty. If she was going to baby-sit the kid, she deserved a few perks.

When they got to the park, Jubilee helped Siku out of her car seat (which she had taken from Hank's car) "Okay, let's go to the path and get your blades on. It's time for your first lesson."

"Goodie!" Siku exclaimed, taking off through the grass, running as fast as her chubby legs could carry her. "We go blaaaaaaading!" she hollered.

"Siku!" Jubilee shouted. "Siku, wait for me!"

Siku turned her head to look at Jubilee and ran straight into a tree. "Ow!" she cried out as she fell backwards onto the grass.

Jubilee went running. "Siku! Are you all right?" 

Siku stood up slowly, brushing bits of bark from the front of her. "I fall, Ju-be."

"You didn't just fall, you smacked head on into a tree," Jubilee said, kneeling down in front of her check her out. "Gesh, kid, you gotta be more careful." 

"My name isn't kid, it's Siku!" the child corrected her.

"Yeah, yeah." Jubilee checked her over. With the exception of a small scrape on her cheek, where it had hit the tree, Siku seemed to be fine. "Does that scratch hurt?" she asked.

"Boo-boo!" Siku said, frowning. "Siku got a boo-boo." She looked up at Jubilee, her eyes wide. "Make it better."

"How?"

"Kiss it." 

Jubilee leaned over and quickly brushed her lips just over where the scrape was. "Is that okay?"

Siku grinned. "All better now."

Boo-boo now magically healed, at least to Siku; the two girls made their way to one of the benches on the path. "Do you even know how to put these on?" Jubilee asked, indicating the blades.

Siku shook her head. "No. Ju-be help."

"Okay." She pulled of the child's sneakers, noting with amusement that one was red and the other was purple. _Hank must have been half asleep when he dressed her this morning_. "Interesting shoes."

"Mine!" Siku exclaimed.

"Of course they're yours." Jubilee slipped the blades on Siku's feet and fastened them. "I think they're cool."

"Cool?" 

"Neat, great, awesome…" Jubilee frowned. There was something wrong with a kid growing up in a house where she never learned slang_. It's Hank's fault_. "I'm saying I like them."

"You want em'?" Siku asked.

"No. You keep them. They wouldn't fit me." Jubilee finished getting Siku's blades on her little feet and patted the child's head. "Now, let me get mine on and-"

She never got to finish her sentence. Blades on, Siku was all too eager to begin. She slid off the bench and stood up in the grass. It had rained the night before and the ground was a bit marshy. The front wheels of Siku's left rollerblade sank into the grass, causing the child to loose her balance. She fell forward, onto the cement path with a thud. 

"Oh geesh!" Jubilee leaped off the bench and rushed over, scooping Siku up. "What happened now?"

"I fall!" Siku said. "My foot sank and I fall."

"Fell." Jubilee corrected, looking Siku over. There was a small cut on the child's right knee where it hit the pavement. "Does that hurt?" she asked, pointing to it.

Siku looked. "Blood!" she squawked. "I'm bleeding!"

"I know," Jubilee said. "Does it hurt?"

"No." Siku reached down and touched the injury gently, smearing blood on her finger. "Oww, that stings!" 

"Yeah, I'll bet it does." Jubilee pulled a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed the blood away. "You shouldn't touch it."

"But you are," Siku pointed out, bringing her blood-smeared finger to her mouth and licking it. 

"Siku!" Jubilee reached up and snatched Siku's hand, taking it away from her mouth. "Don't do that!"

"Why?" Siku's brows furrowed.

"It's nasty." Jubilee explained, wiping off the child's finger to get rid of the blood.

"I need a ban-aid." Siku said.

"I don't have any Band-Aids-" Jubilee began, then stopped. There was a first aid kit in the glove compartment of Rogue's car. There were probably Band-Aids and some disinfectant in it. 

"I need a ban-aid!" Siku said, stubbornly.

"I think I can get you one. Hang on, I'll be right back!" In her haste to fix Siku up, Jubilee dashed away, not even thinking that it probably was not a good idea to leave a toddler alone, even for a few seconds.

She ran to the car and got the first aid kit. She opened it up, relieved to see Band-Aids, disinfectant and various other supplies. _I better take this with me,_ she thought, snapping it shut and tucking it under her arm. _With this kid, I have a feeling I'll need it again._

Meanwhile, Siku looked around and frowned. "Ju-be?" She saw the young woman dashing away. "Where you goin'?" she called out, but Jubilee was too far away and too intent on her mission to hear the child. 

Siku stood up. Although the blades she wore had wide wheels, she was not used to standing on round surfaces. Her one foot slid forward on the smooth pavement, her other foot sliding behind her. "Oops!" She fell again, backwards this time, landing square on her small bottom. "Owww!" she bawled, more frightened by the fall then any pain. "I hit my _butt!"_

A few of the people in the park turned to look at her, but no one rushed forward to help her. This was not normal. People were supposed to rush to her, to kiss her, cuddle her, and make sure she was all right. "**I hurt my _butt_!**" she bellowed.

Returning with the first-aid kit, Jubilee heard the cry. "Oh no!" Putting on a burst of speed, she ran to her. "Siku, what happened?"

"I fall and hit my _butt!_" Siku squalled, angry that it had taken so long for anyone to respond. "Make it better!" she demanded, rolling over onto her stomach.

It took less than a second for Jubilee to asses the situation, realize what Siku expected of her, and give an appropriate response. "There is _no way_ I'm kissing your butt!" Jubilee exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Yes!" Siku insisted. "Have to kiss boo-boos, have to make them better!"

People were beginning to stare. At that moment, Jubilee wished with all her heart she had decided to stay in Massachusetts for the summer, instead of coming to Westchester New York. "Okay, Siku," she mumbled. Leaning over, she brushed her lips briefly along the small of Siku's back, over her T-shirt. 

"That's not where it hurts," Siku said.

"I don't care, it's close enough," Jubilee said, crossly. "Now turn over, so I can fix your knee."

Hearing the annoyance in Jubilee's voice, Siku decided it might not be wise to push the issue, and turned over. "Fix my knee, Ju-be?" she asked.

"Sure, we'll fix you up good." Jubilee opened the kit and started working on Siku's knee. When she dabbed it with an alcohol wipe, Siku automatically jerked back at the pain, falling onto her back, her foot shooting forward, kicking Jubilee in the chest. "Ouch!" Jubilee cried. There was quite a bit of power in those thin, toddler legs and the added weight of the blades did not help.

"Oww, that _stings_!" Siku protested, sitting up. 

"Yeah, I know, but it's the only stuff I got to make your boo-boo clean," Jubilee explained.

"The stuff _Daddy_ uses doesn't sting," Siku said, accusingly. 

"Well, your daddy isn't here right now," Jubilee muttered darkly. "Although I'd give my right arm if he was." 

Siku frowned. "Ju-be mad at me?"

Jubilee was about to answer with a resounding, yes, but stopped. She could not really blame Siku; she was just a kid. Besides, rubbing a cut with alcohol _did_ hurt. "Nah, I'm not mad." She fastened a Band-Aid onto the injury. "See? All better." She tried not to think of how that was going to hurt when it was pealed off. One of the hazards of having fur. She wondered what Hank did when Siku got cut. 

Siku looked at her Band-Aid and frowned. "I want a _Snoopy_ ban-aid!" 

"I want a million dollars and equal rights for mutants," Jubilee said. "Now we both know what it's like to want."

Siku stared at her, the disappointment at a plain Band-Aid forgotten for a moment. She looked back at the cut. "All better now," she proclaimed. 

Jubilee sighed with relief. "Yup, it sure is." 

"Now Ju-be teach me to blade?" Siku asked, hopefully.

"Still want to learn?" Jubilee asked, shocked.

Siku nodded. "Ju-be promised," she reminded her.

"Yeah, I did." Jubilee knew she was stuck. "Okay. Just sit here, Siku. Sit here and _don't move_ while I put on my blades." 

"Okay," Siku happily agreed.

Jubilee put her blades on as fast as possible and stood up. Siku started to follow suit, but she stopped her. "No, don't stand up yet!"

"Why?" 

"Cause I don't want you to fall again," Jubilee explained, holding her arms down. "Take my hands and let me pull you up."

"Okay." Siku grabbed Jubilee's hands, letting the young woman pull her gently into a standing position. Her knees wobbled a bit, but with Jubilee holding her steady she did not fall. "I'm standin' on wheels!" she crowed.

"Yes, you are!" Jubilee agreed. "Now, we're going to move a bit, but I'm going to hold on to your hands, so you don't fall." She started blading backwards, slowly, keeping a firm grip on Siku.

"Wheee!" Siku cried out, feeling the wheels rolling gently along the pavement. "I'm blading!"

"Yup." Jubilee agreed. "You're a natural, kid." 

"Natural!" Siku repeated. She did not know what the word meant, but she knew from Jubilee's voice, it was a good thing. 

Jubilee came to a stop, bracing her arms so Siku stopped too. "Now, I'm going to move behind you. Don't worry, I'll still be holding on." She let go of one arm, shifting her grip on the other, and glided effortlessly behind the child.

"Hey, I can't see you anymore!" Siku said.

"I'm right behind you, don't look." Jubilee said, taking her other hand. "Now, come on, let's go." 

She started moving forward, going slowly. Siku hung on to her hands, clutching them tightly. She did not move her legs, just let Jubilee push her along. "Am I doin' it, Ju-be?" she asked. "Am I?"

"Yeah, you are," Jubilee said, not wanting to discourage the kid. "But now you gotta learn how to make yourself move."

"How I do that?" 

"Okay, you're going to have to move your feet," Jubilee explained. 

Before she could elaborate, Siku tried to lift her feet and walk on the blades, her legs getting tangled. Jubilee lifted her up, keeping her from pitching forward. "No!"

"Oops!" Siku giggled. 

"Oops is right," Jubilee agreed. "You can't walk on blades, like you would with shoes."

"How I do it, then?"

"Well, you glide." Jubilee explained, not sure if the child understood her or not. "You kinda push on the wheel and glide forward." 

"Push!" Siku said, happily. 

"Wanna give it a shot?" She lowered Siku so her wheels were touching the pavement. 

"Yup."

"Okay." Jubilee said. "Now, kinda push your right foot down and back, making the wheels move forward."

Siku did not quite understand what Jubilee meant, but she did know what push was. She put all her weight on her right leg, trying to push it forward. She miscalculated and moved backwards instead, the wheels moving quickly, smashing into Jubilee's right foot. Not expecting this, Jubilee's foot shot behind her, causing her to loose her balance and pitch forward. Still holding onto Siku, she fell to the pavement, taking Siku with her. 

"Owwww!" Siku squawked, as they landed in a heap, Jubilee on top of her. "Ju-be!"

"Oh, cripes, I'm sorry!" Jubilee said, moving away from the child, praying she had not crushed her. "Are you okay?"

Siku rolled over, onto her back and sat up. "Now my other knee has a boo-boo!" she complained, pointing. 

Sure enough, her other knee now had an angry blotch. "Crap," Jubilee said.

"That's not a nice word," Siku said. "Fix it, Ju-be. Need 'nother ban-aid."

"Okay," Jubilee said, sighing. "Just don't touch it, all right?" She got up; hurried back to the bench where their sneakers and the first-aid kit was, scooped up the kit, and returned.

A few minutes later, Siku was sporting a new flesh-colored Band-Aid. This time Jubilee decided not to wipe the injury with alcohol, but just cleaned it as best she could with a gauze square. She was not going to risk another kick to the chest; Hank could clean it better when they got home.

Siku looked at the Band-Aid and smiled. "Now I got two!"

"Yep. Wanna go home now?" Jubilee asked, hopefully.

"No!" Siku shook her head. "Wanna blade more!"

__

Gesh, she's a glutton for punishment! Jubilee thought_. She should come to school with me; she'll love Frosty's training sessions. _"All right." Starting to feel a bit weary, she rose to her feet. 

She went back to going backwards this time, so she could keep a better watch on Siku and keep her feet well out of the way. "Let's try this again."

Although it seemed to take forever, Jubilee was finally able to get Siku to understand the principle of rollerblading, showing her to push and glide, rather than try to run, walk, or anything else that would lead to tangling of feet. Jubilee had to give the kid credit; she obviously wanted to learn. 

"That's it!" she cried, encouragingly, when Siku started really gliding. "You've got it, kid!"

"I'm doin' it?" Siku asked, her eyes wide with wonderment. "I'm really doin' it?"

"You sure are!" Jubilee said. "You're doing great!"

"I'm doin it!" Siku cried out, delighted. "I'm blading. I'm blading, just like Ju-be!"

__

Not quite, Jubilee thought, but did not say. 

"Let go, Ju-be," Siku said. "Let go, I wanna try it myself."

__

Kid's gotta go solo at some point, Jubilee thought. "Sure, why not." She let go of Siku's hands. For a moment, Siku's legs wobbled, then held true. "Good job. Okay, why don't you come to me?" Jubilee moved backwards a few feet, to give the child room to move.

Excited, Siku pushed off hard, rolling forward. There was a small crack in the pavement. The wheels of her left blade stuck into it, causing her to pitch forward. Jubilee leaped forward to grab her, but missed. Siku pitched forward to the pavement. "Awk!" She put her hands out to break the fall. One hand landed it a small pile of sand. It slipped, causing her to sprawl onto the pavement. 

Before her chest could hit the ground, Jubilee managed to grab Siku's T-shirt. "Careful!" she cried. She hauled the child up to her feet, holding her to steady her. "Are you all right?"

Siku held out her hands. The palms were scraped, thin ribbons of blood oozing out. She frowned. "Ju-be, they _hurt._"

"I'll bet they do," Jubilee said, grimly. 

"Ju-be fix them?" Siku asked, hopefully, her lower lip quivering.

"Sure, hang on." Jubilee helped Siku sit on the pavement. "Don't move, I'm gonna go get the kit." Fortunately, they had not traveled very far. She returned with the kit in less than a minute. "Okay, Kiddo, let's get you fixed up."

Siku held up her hands. "They sting bad." 

"Yeah, we'll fix that." Jubilee did not think there were enough Band-Aids left to cover Siku's hands, so she took the roll of gauze instead. "You're not having a very easy time of this, are you?" she said, as she wrapped the gauze around one hand. 

"It's the tar!" Siku said, angrily. "Bad, bad tar!" Before Jubilee could stop her, she slammed the free hand down to the pavement, smacking it with her fist.

"Siku!" Jubilee cried out, "What are you doing?"

Siku's hand froze on the pavement, where she had smashed it. She looked at Jubilee, her eyes wide with shock. "It bit me back!" she finally exclaimed. "It bit me back and it _huuurt!_"

"Let me see it!" Jubilee said, taking hold of the injured hand and gently prying it from the pavement. Siku's knuckles were scraped and split, and now looked like the palm. "Siku, that was dumb. Don't hit the pavement."

"It's bad, Ju-be, it's bad. It _bit_ me." Siku said, tears beginning to spill down her face. 

"It didn't bite you, it can't. But if you hit something that hard, it's gonna hurt." Jubilee took the gauze. "I'll fix it up, okay?"

Siku nodded, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "Make it better, Ju-be."  


"I'll try." Sighing, Jubilee began wrapping the gauze around Siku's hand_. At this rate, I'm gonna end up having to buy Rogue another first-aid kit, _she thought.

When Siku finally had enough and they returned home, Jubilee was shocked to find out it was only 3:00 in the afternoon. _Two hours_, she thought as she parked the car in front of the house_. We were at the park for two hours. I would have thought it was two years!_ Wearily, she helped Siku out of the car seat and into the house. "We're home," she called out.

Hank came out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "Well, I was starting to…" his voice trailed off as he got his first good look at his daughter. "Oh. My. Lord."

Jubilee looked down at the child. She had been with the child and seen the injuries come one by one. Now she was actually seeing how it must look to someone who had not witnessed all this destruction. There was an angry scrape on her cheek and her little hands were wrapped with gauze. Her knees had matching Band-Aids on them and her clothes were filthy and torn in places. She had various other cuts and scratches where she had fallen other times as they continued to try to blade. Jubilee cringed. The child looked as if she had been dragged from the back end of the car over the railroad tracks. 

"What in Heaven's name _happened?"_ Hank shrieked, grabbing his daughter and scooping her up. 

"Umm," Jubilee began, staring at Hank. Gone was the mild-mannered Dr. McCoy she knew so well. In his place was a foaming, angry father, ready to murder whoever had trashed his daughter. "We, uhh…"

"I went blading!" Siku crowed, grinning. "Ju-be an' Siku go blading!"

"Blading?" Beast's eyes were twin pools of blue fire. "And where did you go 'blading,' I might ask. On a bed of _nails_?" 

"At the park," Jubilee mumbled, wondering if she could possibly stop him if Hank decided to crush her like a grape.

"I don't believe this!" Hank thundered. He looked at his daughter. "It's okay, Sunshine," he said, tenderly. "Daddy will get you fixed up in a jiffy." 

He looked back at Jubilee. "You have some explaining to do, young lady."

"Yeah," Jubilee mumbled. _Why didn't I insist we go home after she ran into the tree?_ she wondered. 

The three of them went down to the med-lab, Hank holding Siku. When they got inside, he put his daughter on one of the tables. Between applying first-aid cream and applying bandages, Hank alternated between assuring Siku she would be all right and telling Jubilee how irresponsible she had been. 

"She's just a toddler!" he ranted as he finished tending the last of the injuries, the cuts on Siku's knees. "She might be better coordinated than most children, but I think it is obvious she is not ready for rollerblading."

"I'm sorry," Jubilee muttered. She fought back the urge to tell Hank off, because she realized that it would only lead to a lot more trouble. "Really, Hank, I'm sorry."

"Oh, as if two little words will make Siku feel better. There, there, Sunshine. It's all right." He put a Snoopy Band-Aid onto each knee. "You're not a child anymore, Jubilation, you're a young woman. You should have known better." 

"I'm sorry." Jubilee repeated. _Lay off me_, she thought. _If you didn't want this stuff to happen, **you **should have been watching your kid. She's persistant when she wants something._

"You should be. You should be _very_ sorry." He started gathering up the supplies again. "I'm not even all that upset that you decided to take her blading in the first place. No, I am more upset that you did not change the plans when Siku got her first injury."

"I'm sorry." Jubilee bit off the words. What else could she say? 

"Daddy?" Siku said. "I wanna say somethin', Daddy. Please?

"Not now, Sunshine, I am talking to your Aunt Jubilee." Hank patted the child on the head, momentarily distracted, then turned his attention back to Jubilee.

"One injury just was not enough for you. You had to keep going, keep pushing my daughter to continue with this-"

"I'm. Sorry."

"Daddy!" Siku interrupted, louder this time.

"Hang on, Sunshine." Hank said, not taking his eyes off Jubilee. "And you did not even make sure her knees and elbows were protected!"

"I'm. Sorry."

"_Daddy!_" Siku cried out, a bit louder than the previous two times.

"Not now, Siku," Hank said, a bit impatiently. "You're lucky that the worst she has are minor abrasions. She could have been very seriously injured, possibly even killed. I know, that might sound next to impossible, but it does happen. I have read of such things happening many times. If you don't believe me, you can talk to Kimber. She's told me countless stories of children she's seen at her clinic with broken bones, concussions, and injuries that will affect them for life, because they were rollerblading with improper protection. I cannot control how you live your life, Jubilee, but I can insist that you protect my daughter!"

"_**Daddy!**_" Siku bellowed, finally fed up at being ignored.

Hank turned his attention to his daughter, realizing she was not going to be quiet. "What is it, Siku?"

Siku looked at her father and then Jubilee, grinning. "I had the _bestest_ fun! Can Ju-be take me blading 'morrow?"

The End.

  



End file.
